Is it possible to paint over gray hair at home with high quality? Yes, you can. If you do not need complex staining, then you can do it yourself. The main thing is to know a few important things. Of course, a good master will cope with this business more fervently and faster, but this is a completely different question.
Let's take a step-by-step analysis of the algorithm of actions, starting from the choice of paint in the store, ending with its correct washing off after staining.
In 2018, I published an article with colorists' tips for dyeing gray hair, and today I want to give detailed step-by-step instructions based on these chips and more.
What to do to better paint over gray hair
There are 2 ways to prepare your hair for better gray coverage. Colorists use them if the gray hair is vitreous (thick, unruly gray hair), or there is a high percentage of gray hair (usually when it exceeds 50%).
This is pre-pigmentation and loosening of the hair cuticle. I talked about them in detail and clearly in that article of mine (the link will be at the end).
The first method involves the preliminary application of paint on gray areas without oxide, the second - oxide without paint.
At home, it is easiest to loosen the cuticle, especially if you dye your hair yourself. The oxide is very easy to apply, it goes like clockwork. Therefore, today I will tell you exactly about this method.
Home coloring of gray hair: what to buy
Paint can be household, and sometimes professional. It's better to completely forget about household items, nowadays there are many professional paints for any wallet.
From the budget I like Kapous, it is not very concentrated, but in general it holds on to me 1.5 times better than the more expensive Matrix. I also liked the Kezy paint, it is already very pigmented, the color may turn out to be darker than usual, but it will be very deep and beautiful. Slightly more expensive - Selective Professional, good pigmentation, rich color.
Natural colors and special rulers marked "for gray hair" are best suited for gray hair.
Oxide from professional paints goes separately and this is all the salt. We can vary the percentage of oxide, depending on the request.
For gray hair, 6% oxide is usually used (there are exceptions at the discretion of an experienced craftsman). The ratio of oxide and paint for different brands may differ, we always focus on the instructions for a particular paint!
It turns out that we need to buy: professional paint (not household paint from Pyaterochka), oxide with a margin, which is needed for loosening and for coloring itself. As a bonus, you can take ampoules to add to the paint (more on them later).
Step-by-step instructions for painting gray hair at home
It is not worth dyeing on very dirty hair. Modern paints do not require such "reassurance". It's great if you dye your hair on the second or third day after washing.
If you know that you will dye your hair, do not use very nourishing masks and shampoos when washing your hair. If your hair is not very fragile, you can wash it with a deep cleaning shampoo the day before. If it is very brittle, dry and thin, then SHGO is not for you.
If the gray hair is more than 50-60%, or it is vitreous, first we loosen the hair cuticle. If there are areas without gray hair, we do not touch them. Gently apply 6% oxide on the gray hair with a brush, do not stretch it too much, our task is to cover the gray areas.
We stand for 20-30 minutes (depending on the thickness, general condition of the hair). We take a paper towel and use it to remove the oxide from the hair. In no case do we wash it off with water, because then we need to dye our hair. The oxide is easily removed.
When we have 3 minutes left before the oxide is removed, we dilute the usual usual coloring composition: paint + oxide. After removing the oxide with a towel, we apply our paint to the gray roots (or maybe your entire length is gray). You can add a special agent to it for a more gentle staining, they are available in many brands. I have Hack Estelle, at the end there will be a link to my article about him.
If you want to not only paint over the gray roots, but also update the color of the length, then emulsification can help you. 10 minutes before the end of the dye holding time, go to the bath and gently wet your hair. We begin to whisk the paint and distribute it along the entire length. Rinse off after 10 minutes.
Ideally, wash off with shampoo for colored hair and use a special stabilizing balm. If not, then at least the usual one.
Everything! Gray hair will be painted over in this way better, and the paint will hold more reliably. Thank you for your attention and likes, subscribe if you liked it.
Article about ampoules Estelle here, about pre-pigmentation and loosening here.
